16 September 2006

Folio Society

I love books. This isn't a fondness, it is a lifelong obsession. One of my favorite star trek episodes is the one where the captain receives a "real book" as a present.

Paperbacks are fine. In a pinch the backs of cereal boxes are fodder for a reader, but there is simply nothing like a "real book". The bargain shelf at B & N is a happy hunting ground, but nothing beats a well bound book, with beautiful print and wonderful engravings. They are treasures as well as reading material. They have a feel and smell that is an almost erotic pleasure.

In it's own way, this is a sale pitch because I have discovered a wonderful source for good books. If you have never heard of The Folio Society, pay them a visit. This is an expensive but not outrageously priced habit for someone who wants to build a library that will still be around for your great grandchildren to read.

My other great link is The Library of America. They publish great works and history of the United states. All are boxed and of similar size but with different colored bindings. Perfect both for reading and preservation.

For some odd reason I thought of this episode of Twilight Zone when I read your post.

"Witness Mr. Henry Bemis, a charter member in the fraternity of dreamers. A bookish little man whose passion is the printed page but who is conspired against by a bank president and a wife and a world full of tongue-cluckers and the unrelenting hands of a clock."

Mad...if I remember right...poor little Henry was saved from an atomic bomb blast by being in the bank vault....he ran to the town's library with glee over the fact he could now read all he wanted...but broke his glasses and could barely see a thing without them....

About Me

Lifelong Gypsy 21 schools and continued roaming with working career. Seem to have settled down somewhat now that I've reached "senior" status, but still find all maps and schedules fascinating. Favorite movies: Two For The Road, 84 Charing Cross Road, Same Time Next Year, To Kill A Mockingbird, Torchsong Trilogy. TV: Doctor Who & Torchwood on BBC America plus Treme - Game of Thrones

Quotes

"Holding on to anger is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die." - Buddha

“Do not confuse "duty" with what other people expect of you; they are utterly different. Duty is a debt you owe to yourself to fulfill obligations you have assumed voluntarily. Paying that debt can entail anything from years of patient work to instant willingness to die. Difficult it may be, but the reward is self-respect

But there is no reward at all for doing what other people expect of you, and to do so is not merely difficult, but impossible. It is easier to deal with a footpad than it is with the leech who wants "just a few minutes of your time, please—this won't take long." Time is your total capital, and the minutes of your life are painfully few. If you allow yourself to fall into the vice of agreeing to such requests, they quickly snowball to the point where these parasites will use up 100 percent of your time—and squawk for more!

So learn to say No—and to be rude about it when necessary. Otherwise you will not have time to carry out your duty, or to do your own work, and certainly no time for love and happiness. The termites will nibble away your life and leave none of it for you. (This rule does not mean that you must not do a favor for a friend, or even a stranger. But let the choice be yours. Don't do it because it is "expected" of you.)”